Affinity Designer

Affinity Designer 2.6.5 running on Windows 11

Developer(s)| Serif Europe
Initial release| 1 October 2014; 11 years ago (2014-10-01)
Final release|

2.6.5 / 22 September 2025; 7 months ago (2025-09-22)[1]

Operating system| macOS, Microsoft Windows, iPadOS
Available in| 9 languages

List of languages

English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese, Russian

Type| Vector graphics editor
License| Proprietary
Website| affinity.serif.com/designer/

Affinity Designer is a discontinued vector graphics editor developed by Serif for macOS, Microsoft Windows and iPadOS.

Developed as a successor to Serif’s DrawPlus and first released in 2014, Affinity Designer was part of a suite alongside Affinity Photo and Affinity Publisher, respectively a raster graphics editor and desktop publishing application.

Affinity used a perpetual license model. In 2025, following the purchase of Serif by Canva in 2024, it was replaced by the freemium Affinity application, bundling vector, raster and layout features together.

## Contents

* 1 Functionality
* 2 Development
* 2.1 Release
* 2.2 Version 2
* 2.3 Version 3 and merge into Affinity
* 3 Reception
* 4 See also
* 5 References
* 6 Further reading
* 7 External links

## Functionality

Affinity Designer serves as a successor to Serif's own DrawPlus software, which the company discontinued in August 2017 in order to focus on the Affinity product range.[2] It has been described as an Adobe Illustrator alternative,[3][4][5] and is compatible with common graphics file formats, including Adobe Illustrator (AI), Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG), Adobe Photoshop (PSD), Portable Document Format (PDF), and Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) formats.[6] The application can also import data from some Adobe FreeHand files (specifically versions 10 and MX).[7]

Affinity Designer's core functions include vector pen and shape-drawing tools, support for custom vector and raster brushes (including the ability to import Adobe Photoshop (ABR) brushes), dynamic symbols, stroke stabilization, text style management, and vector/pixel export options.[5][8][9]

Affinity Designer provides non-destructive editing features across unlimited layers, with pan and zoom at 60fps, and real-time views for effects and transformations.[10] It supports the RGB, RGB Hex, LAB, CMYK and Grayscale color models, along with PANTONE color swatches and an end-to-end CMYK workflow with ICC color management, and 16-bit per channel editing.[11][9]

## Development

Affinity Designer icon history

v1 icon

2015 icon

2019 icon

v2 icon

### Release

The first version was released in October 2014, making it the first of the Affinity apps to be released by Serif (and their first macOS release).[12] At that time, Serif's vector graphics application for Windows was DrawPlus; however, following the release of Affinity Designer for Windows, this product has now been discontinued.[13]

Affinity Designer began as a vector graphics editor solely for macOS. It was developed entirely from scratch for this operating system, allowing it to leverage core native technologies such as OpenGL, Grand Central Dispatch, and Core Graphics.[14]

Version 1.2, released in April 2015, introduced new tools and features, such as a corner tool and a pixel-alignment mode for GUI design tasks.[15] In December 2015, version 1.4 then introduced new features for managing artboards and printing.[16] With version 1.5 in October 2016, the application received multiple new features, including symbols, constraints, asset management and text styles.[17]

The application began branching out to other platforms in November 2016, when it first launched for Microsoft Windows.[18]

Version 1.6 was released in November 2017, introducing performance improvements and alternative GUI display mode.[19]

The first release of a separate iPad version of Affinity Designer took place in July 2018.[20]

Version 1.7 was released in June 2019 adding some key features such as HDR support, unlimited strokes and fills to a single shape, new point transform tool, new transform mode in Node tool, Lasso selection of nodes, new sculpt mode added to pencil, and also some big performance improvements.[21] Version 1.8, released in February 2020, added the ability for users to define their own document templates and keyboard shortcuts, and a built-in panel for adding stock images.[22] Version 1.9 was released in February 2021, containing "substantial performance gains when working with complex vector documents" and hardware acceleration for Windows.[23]

### Version 2

In November 2022, Serif launched the second major version of Affinity Designer, incorporating shape builder and knife tools, vector warping, and an x-ray view. However, it received criticism online as some users felt the new feature set was not substantial enough to justify a new purchase.[24] This was followed by version 2.1 in May 2023 and version 2.2 in September 2023, adding various UI improvements and support for macOS Sonoma.[25][26]

### Version 3 and merge into Affinity

Icon for the combined Affinity v3

In October 2025, Affinity Designer was discontinued in favour of the freemium Affinity by Canva, which has unified the functionality of the three separate Affinity applications.[27][28][29]

## Reception

Affinity Designer was selected as a runner-up in Apple's "Best of 2014" list of Mac App Store and iTunes Store content in the macOS app category.[30][31][32] It also was one of the winners of the 2015 Apple Design Award.[33]

In 2018, the Windows version of Affinity Designer won 'Application Creator of the Year' at the Windows Developer Awards (part of Microsoft Build 2018).[34]

Affinity Designer was selected as the winner of the "Best Software For Designers" Award in the 2022 Creative Bloq Awards.[35]

## See also

* Comparison of vector graphics editors

## References

1. ↑ "Latest Affinity V2 releases on each platform by store". 8 November 2022. https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/170203-latest-affinity-v2-releases-on-each-platform-by-store/.
2. ↑ Ogunjobi, Anino (2017-08-10). "Digital Craft: Serif discontinues its Pageplus, Drawplus and Photoplus designing software to focus on its(Serif) new Affinity range of Professional graphic design software" (in en-GB). https://aninoogunjobi.com/2017/08/digital-craft-serif-discontinues-pageplus-drawplus-photoplus-designing-software-focus-itsserif-new-affinity-range-professional-graphic-design-software/.
3. ↑ "Why I Use Affinity Designer Instead of Illustrator for Motion Design". School of Motion. https://www.schoolofmotion.com/blog/illustrator-vs-affinity.
4. ↑ "Affinity Designer vs Adobe Illustrator CC 2018 Comparison | FinancesOnline" (in en-US). https://comparisons.financesonline.com/affinity-designer-vs-adobe-illustrator-cc.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Affinity Designer vs. Adobe Illustrator: can Designer replace Illustrator? - 99designs" (in en-US). 99designs. 2016-08-17. https://99designs.com/blog/design-resources/affinity-designer-vs-adobe-illustrator-review/.
6. ↑ Martin, Keith (November 27, 2014). "Serif Affinity Designer". Expert Reviews. http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/software/photo-editing/1402120/serif-affinity-designer.
7. ↑ "Import and export file formats - Affinity Designer Help" (in en). https://affinity.help/designer/en-US.lproj/index.html?page=/Appendix/fileformat.html?title=Import and export file formats.
8. ↑ "Affinity - One Year Review". 29 March 2017. https://www.cargocreative.co.uk/blog/affinity-one-year-review.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Affinity Designer - Complete Feature List" (in en). https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/designer/desktop/full-feature-list/.
10. ↑ "Illustrator rival launches on Windows" (in EN-GB). Creative Bloq. https://www.creativebloq.com/showcase/affinity-designer-windows-coming-61621004.
11. ↑ "Graphic Design App 'Affinity Designer' Launches for iPad With Apple Pencil Support" (in en). https://www.macrumors.com/2018/07/11/affinity-designer-launches/.
12. ↑ "Affinity Designer is a new graphics design suite available for Mac" (in en). iMore. 2014-10-02. https://www.imore.com/affinity-designer-now-finally-available-mac-app-store.
13. ↑ "Digital Craft: Serif discontinues its Pageplus, Drawplus and Photoplus designing software to focus on its(Serif) new Affinity range of Professional graphic design software - ANINO" (in en-GB). ANINO. 2017-08-10. https://aninoogunjobi.com/2017/08/digital-craft-serif-discontinues-pageplus-drawplus-photoplus-designing-software-focus-itsserif-new-affinity-range-professional-graphic-design-software/.
14. ↑ "Serif releases free alternative to Adobe Illustrator" (in EN-GB). Creative Bloq. https://www.creativebloq.com/illustration/serif-free-alternative-71412389.
15. ↑ "Affinity Designer gets first big update" (in EN-GB). Creative Bloq. https://www.creativebloq.com/computer-arts/affinity-designer-gets-first-big-update-41514598.
16. ↑ "Top new features in Affinity Designer 1.4" (in EN-GB). Creative Bloq. https://www.creativebloq.com/software/top-new-features-affinity-designer-14-121518272.
17. ↑ "Affinity Designer 1.5 released | Webdesigner Depot" (in en). Webdesigner Depot. 2016-10-12. https://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2016/10/affinity-designer-1-5-released/.
18. ↑ "Affinity Spotlight - Photography, Design & Illustration". https://affinity.serif.com/blog/affinity-designer-for-windows-has-launched/.
19. ↑ "Affinity Photo 1.6 released: faster processing, new features, and free stuff". DPReview. https://www.dpreview.com/news/4454827395/affinity-photo-1-6-released-faster-processing-new-features-and-free-stuff.
20. ↑ "9to5" (in en). https://twitter.com/9to5mac/status/1017028633523834880.
21. ↑ "Affinity Designer and Photo for Mac updated to version 1.7 with multi-GPU and HDR display support". https://9to5mac.com/2019/06/05/affinity-designer-photo-mac-version-1-7-multi-gpu/.
22. ↑ Benjamin, Jeff (2020-02-26). "Affinity Photo, Publisher, and Designer updated to version 1.8" (in en-US). https://9to5mac.com/2020/02/26/affinity-photo-designer-and-publisher-updated-to-version-1-8-custom-keyboard-shortcuts-come-to-ipad/.
23. ↑ Khareghat, Melanie (4 February 2021). "Affinity 1.9 updates available now" (in en). https://affinityspotlight.com/article/affinity-19-updates-available-now/.
24. ↑ Endicott, Sean (9 November 2022). "Affinity 2 launch causes controversy among content creators" (in en). https://www.windowscentral.com/software-apps/affinity-20-launch-causes-controversy-among-content-creators.
25. ↑ Dean, Ian (18 May 2023). "Serif's Affinity suite gets a surprise free update" (in en). https://www.creativebloq.com/news/affinity-2-1-update.
26. ↑ Schmitz, Agen (25 September 2023). "Affinity Designer, Photo, and Publisher 2.2" (in en). https://tidbits.com/watchlist/affinity-designer-photo-and-publisher-2-2/.
27. ↑ "Affinity is now an all-in-one free app with native Canva integration". 2025-10-30. https://9to5mac.com/2025/10/30/affinity-is-now-an-all-in-one-free-app-with-native-canva-integration/.
28. ↑ Weatherbed, Jess (2025-10-30). "Affinity’s new design platform combines everything into one app" (in en-US). https://www.theverge.com/news/810251/canva-affinity-design-suite-free-app-relaunch.
29. ↑ Alderson, Rob (2025-10-30). "Canva makes pro-design tool Affinity “free, forever”" (in en-GB). https://www.designweek.co.uk/canva-makes-pro-design-tool-affinity-free-forever/.
30. ↑ Spencer, Graham (December 8, 2014). "Apple Posts "Best of 2014" App Store and iTunes Store Lists". MacStories. http://www.macstories.net/news/apple-posts-best-of-2014-app-store-and-itunes-store-lists/.
31. ↑ May, Tom (December 10, 2014). "Affinity Designer is number 2 Mac app of 2014". Creative Bloq. http://www.creativebloq.com/app-design/affinity-designer-number-2-mac-app-2014-121413664.
32. ↑ Calimlim, Aldrin (December 8, 2014). "Apple announces the App Store's Best of 2014 for iPhone, iPad and Mac". AppAdvice. http://appadvice.com/appnn/2014/12/apple-announces-the-app-stores-best-of-2014-for-iphone-ipad-and-mac.
33. ↑ Panzarino, Matthew (June 8, 2015). "Fantastical 2, Workflow, Robinhood Among Winners At Apple Design Awards". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2015/06/08/fantastical-2-workflow-robinhood-among-winners-at-apple-design-awards/.
34. ↑ "Windows Developer Awards - Build 2018 - Windows app development" (in es-es). https://developer.microsoft.com/es-es/windows/projects/events/build/2018/awards.
35. ↑ "Adobe Photoshop 2022 wins software of the year in the Creative Bloq Awards 2022" (in en). 2022-09-29. https://www.creativebloq.com/cb-awards-winners-software.

## Further reading

Affinity Designer Workbook. Nottingham: Serif Europe Ltd. 2016. ISBN 9781909581036.

## External links

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

Vector graphics editors

Free and open-source|

* Apache OpenOffice Draw
* Embroidermodder
* Inkscape
* Ipe
* Karbon
* LibreOffice Draw
* sK1
* Skencil
* SVG-edit
* Xfig
* Xara Xtreme LX

Proprietary|

* Adobe FreeHand
* Adobe Fireworks
* Adobe Illustrator
* Affinity Designer
* Canvas X
* CorelDRAW
* DrawPlus
* Microsoft Expression Design
* PhotoLine
* Sketch
* Xara Photo & Graphic Designer

* Category
* Comparison

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